The cover
by lazetta croft
Summary: Where there is a huge problem, the Tony from the future shows up and there is everything wrong with the world. (Infinity war spoilers)
1. Chapter 1

hi!

 **I CAME BACK TO WRITING IMMA SHIT. I JUST NEED AN IDEA. HELP MEEEEE!**

 **anyway, news! my brother joined fanfiction net! i just hope he stays out of my account because that is filled of imma and avengers and angst anime. his pen name is glenn croft. he is working on a pokemon story currently, he has not posted it yet.  
**

 **so instead of wasting my time on holidays homework, i decided to write a fic because cbse has changed its pattern and now our exams will be back to back.**

 **please dont mind me, i shall just blabber until i get an ideaaaaaaaaaaa...**

 **how about this;**

 _ **tony was walking back from college. whiplash saw him and decided to kill him without useless commentry.**_

 _ **the end . merci beaucoup.**_

 _ **sorry :)her readers into a boiling cauldron.  
**_

 _ **anyway, before playing any more, whiplash decided to smack a girl named khushboo and asked her to just write a story instead of putting**_

 **well i say...i got no idea. i just gotta take a break.  
**

 **i got an idea! here goes something!**

anyway, the unversity starts at 8;00 in the morning, i do not know the real timings, just my schools starts at 8;00 :)

chapter 1

8:10 am, Monday

"Oh my god, look who showed up so early!" Mrs. Rancher crossed her arms and casted a death glare at the bed fuddled looking Tony, who was leaning against the door and panting. He was already late for his class, and the fact the Mrs. Rancher was taking it made it difficult to breathe.

"Good morning mr. stark!" Mrs. Rancher retorted cruelly. " Thank you for spellbinding us with your magical prescence. I hope you remember that you have to sit?"

Tony shrugged and muttered, "had no idea.." he yawned and walked to his seat. He walked towards his seat and sat down. Pepper winked at him. " Night bussiness?"She muttered mischeaviously . (wroooong spelling, i guess)

"MISS POTTS!"

"Alright lady, got it.'

XXX

"I swear, this lady is gonna be the death of me..." Tony complained. Rhodey nodded, sipping away his coke. " I never liked Math anyway." ( **lol, me too :)** ) Pepper said.

"You are freaking excellent at Math!" Rhodey exclaimed.

"But that doesnt mean i like it!"

Rhodey groaned.

Tony yawned again. "I wanna sleep..."

"Man, you should stop missing your sleep and all stuff." Rhodey scolded sympathetically.

"Ahem!" A new voice was heard. The trio turned to find Whitney Stane, staring with a smile. "hi."

Tony waved. "hi!"

"I just came to call Pepper. Miss Jenna is calling her."

"oh!" Pepper exclaimed. She jumped and both Whitney and Pepper walked away.

Tony stared at the sky, expression unreadable. His donut remained untouched in his hands.

"hey Mr. spaceout?" Rhodey leaned towards Tony . "What's up?"

" I was just-" Tony never got to complete his sentence. He just gaped at the new figure emerging from the door.

"Nick Fury?"

 **oh hi fury! i dont know what i did, but i am again, despite my inner soul's denial, am writing a multi chapter fic.**


	2. Chapter 2

**hello. hi. yo. wassup. namaste. aadaab. bonjour. guten tag...what am i doing...**

 **hey guys!**

 **i kinda forgot what you write in the author's note...is it compulsory?**

 **oh yeah! i finally unlocked the mirror in clash royale!yay!**

 _ **i had to shout it out**_ **somewhere...**

 **god damn,,,, please ignore this.**

"Nick Fury?" Tony stood up from where he was sitting ever so slightly, Rhodey following the cue. It wasnt alarming to see Fury, working as Iron Man, Tony had expected to see him one day, but he never imagined him bursting into the university while wearing a freaking tuxedo.

AND AN EYEPATCH.

Tony felt really happy for the fact that Pepper wasnt in the room. She was the only person that had managed to get Fury furious in a mere 17 seconds. Tony had counted.

"Good morning stark. I hope your studies are going well?" Fury's hands remained plastered behind his back. Agents and their style...

"Why are you- yes, they are," Tony replied, " But why are you here?"

" You shall see. We need you to come with us."

"But the classes-"

" Will be taken care off."

"But sir-"

"Tony." At this, Fury gave Tony such a glare that he nearly jumped out of his skin. Tony had opened his mouth to speak but clamped his mouth shut.

He nodded.

"Good. I guess there are 3 more minutes for the Lunch break to be over. We will exit as soon as the students are in there classes. Till then, i think you should finish your donut.

XXX

Tony should have known that entering the hellicarier would be a hooklidoo floor thumped with every step, making thousands of agents (all dressed in black, gawd) turn towards him. None of them smiled. The office was so quiet, you could hear a mute person speak. Tony couldnt bear the seriousness. He wanted music. Some heartwarming smiles. He didnt want people gaping at him like a zombie.

An agent came to a halt by them. "Sir."

"Agent Hill. Was the situation handled?"

"Yes sir." She too, didnt smile. god , these people. Tony wondered whether a tickle bomb would set them off.

He heard muffled screams coming from a room labelled as 'The torture room' . He decided that even a tickle bomb wouldnt work.

"Well," Fury told Hill, " I will be taking Tony , we have work."

Saying so, he started walking again, totally ignoring the fact that Maria nearly spoke 'alright'

He stopped in front of a blackk door and inserted a key card into a slot at the door's right.

The doors opened and both Fury and Tony entered the room.

 **i dont know why i cant write long chapters...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi!**

 **I know that i have finally posted after such a long time, m sooooo sooooorrrrryyyyyyy...maths teacher is like a hammerhead shark. but i have holidays. for like: sunday, then its janmashtami ( we celebrate the birth of lord Krishna) and then its the 71'st independance day !(of india... I kinda know only one indian guy on wattpad, wandervibes)**

 **So,...**

 **I guess i have nothing more to say :)**

 **No wait.**

 **I have made an account at wattpad, check it out, i had posted a blog, i dont remember its name. this will be the only iron man fic which will not get a revamp.**

 **ch-3**

Tony could barely keep himself from gasping. The room was littered with blueprints,and testubes. And there were some mysterious bottles at the corner of the room, which smelled terrible. TERRIBLE. t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e. terybul.

Well, well. It was a lab.

"Hi!"

Tony fell back, surprised, as a face popped from behind one of the tables. His irritation sparked forward on his face and he made a face.

"Oh. Well, this is weak."

Tony felt even more angry. Was the man calling him weak?

One look at him, and..NO. He was talking to the bottle in his hand. Talk about high-headed people.

Tony coughed loudly, for the person was simply ignoring the fact that a seventeen year old was lying on the floor waiting for an apology. It did give lashes of pain to his chest, though.

Nick Fury smirked. (the idiot thinks now is the best time to smile.) He tapped the man's shoulder which made him sigh , and turnn to Tony.

" This is the boy."

"yeah , I know."

Tony stared the man and took in his appearance. He had white skin, which was spoiled by the bags under his eyes. He had a goatee (now untidy) and small

structure. Tony could'nt help but gawp helplessly at the toned muscles which showed through his black tank hands were littered with scars. He smiled, Tony could'nt help but notice the weariness that was etched out in his now smiling eyes. He pulled Tony up.

"Now that we are done... Hi?"


	4. TINY LITTE HAITUS :(

so , yeah.

I am putting my stories on haitus, now this is nothing new for my older stories, but i decided to issue a formal notice for my major stories, which still have ongoing readers :).

So.

The cover, I did upload a chapter recently, and 'Where the line breaks' ,as far as that goes, I was writing a chapter ,like since the indian independance day...Guess i could never finish that , you guys can pitch in ideas for both the stories ... as for one of my friends wanted a cameo, i am working on it! :)

I do remember saying on one of my stories, "since exams are over, I am gonna upload more faster.." Well, dream on, school has taken a terrible turn, since CBSE has changed the pattern and has brought board exams back to the ..i dunno... Then, our mid terms are closing up, i hate the story books given in the syllabus except the hound of baskervilles,its like "bharat ki khoj"(the finding of india) and Munshi premchand's collection of stories...AND FREAKING RUSKIN BOND. am sorry, but i cant stand ruskin bond. SORRY.

So am gonna put my stories on a haitues for a while...:)


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi!**

 **I have my Hindi exam day after tomorrow, soo... PANIC! there is soo much syllabus! I felt like I need a break. A braek. A brake.**

 **So, here we go.**

 _A 'Hi' is a perfect thing to say after tripping someone. Totally perfect..._

Tony glared at the man, only to realize that no amount of glaring could beat this man. He , however, decided to skip the niceties.

"Who the hell are you?"

The man smirked. He spared a glance at Fury, who returned a I-Told-You-Look.

"Well, you are totally..."

Tony expected to hear 'an idiot', ' a douchebag', or even ' a jerk', but then...

" ...just like me!"

Tony spat internally. No. He would rather be a pile of male-cow-dung than be compared to THIS person. "I asked you a question." Tony retorted hotly.

The man , once again glanced at Fury. Fury nodded.

" To you, I will be Edward. "

" I can't exactly say that I am pleased to meet you, but" at this point, he turned to Fury. "why am I here?"

Fury looked quite tired and wary , but he exited the room, only to return within minutes. In his hands, was a file.

"I guess you like reading, Tony?"

"uh...no."

Fury smirked. "Then Mr. Edward here will like to explain... wouldn't you?" He poked Edward in the back, and Tony, who was used to pain, had to admit , that it had to hurt.

"Yeah."

As soon as Fury left though, both the men were glaring daggers at each other. " Well, my girl- assistant! will explain this piece of.." He looked at the file resentfully, " ancient junk. " He ushered Tony behind a great rack of mechanical stuff. Behind it, was a young blonde, holding a silver arm and observing it carefully.

"Meet Miss," Edward looked sorrowful as he described the woman, who looked really furious, "Hansen." My assistant. She can explain this stuffish stuff, while I can work in peace."


	6. Chapter 6

Tony gaped at mrs. Hansen.

"So, we just need to retrieve a file?!"

"Nah, little guy, it's not a file." Hansen took out her shiny black phone and swerved through several folders (it was see-through), and began reading.

"According to the documents,this file contains a code to the entrance of an old temple. If the guy unlocks the gateway to the temple, we will be in real trouble."

"Why exactly?" Tony couldnt help but praise himself inwardly for his edgy-ish remarks.

"Because, Tony," she almost winced at the soundof his name,"this temple , if unlocked, shall cause real destruction. unimaginative powers. "

Tony cringed inwardly. He did believe in magic since meeting Dr. Doom. He believed that magic was just more advanced science.

"Why me , though?" The question troubled Tony. "I am seventeen!"

"Kiddo..."

"Stop. Just stop. I am seventeen , okay. Not a kiddo."

Mrs. Hansen smiled.

" Because there is no one Edward trusts other than himself...and you! And anyway, we are gonna need help . This guy is strong."

"You did'nt answer my question."

Hansen sighed, Teenagers are spiteful. "Tony, ever heard of iron man?"

Tony paled. He knew Mrs. Hansen knew nothing of him being iron man , but the subject made him feel pukish.

"Yup."

"We don't know him, yet we expect help from him. Because we know he can and will help us. Considering the fact that you are the smartest brain in the city-"

"F*ck Fury."

"language."

"Sorry."

"There will be obstacles. It's your choice. Will you help us, or will you not?"

Tony thought for a moment. He head tumbled to the floor and his feet flew in the air. His eyes watered as previous choices, the risks, the pain came reflecting back from his past.

"No."

XXXX

 **I AM ALIVE!YAY!**

 **not for long...exams coming again...i swear...**

 **and no sir, the story will still go on even if tony has refused, i have a sadistic plan for him...muahahahhahaah!**


	7. Chapter 7

"No."

 **Tony**

 _I am a really rude person.  
_ Tony thought as he walked back to his lab. Apparently there were still twenty minutes for the last class to be over: Tony could join the class. It wasnt his fault if people in eye-patches just kidnap people from school. But he definately would not try telling that to old Houston. He would bury him under the smooth marble floor after murdering him and then ask his soul where he had been.

His smartwatch started beeping lightly. He realized that the arc reactor's battery would last an hour more, before leaving him to the mercy of the shrapnel resting dangerously close to his heart.

Tony sighed, watching a guy roller-skate past him, beaming.

How dare he smile on a tiresome day like this.

Tony felt like taking a break. He sat down on a bench nearby, and took his mobile phone out.

Big mistake. Tony had developed high tech stuff from himself, and it didnt escape the eyes of some people. The roller-skating guy glared enviously, much to Tony's satisfaction. But then, this little kid decided to come and sit next to him. Tony ignored his watchful gaze, until the kid broke the silence.

"Where did you get that?"

Tony sighed again. He dropped his gaze on the child. " My fath- aunt got it for me."

"From where?"

"From Tokyo. The technology is very nice, in Tokyo."

"Can I have it?" He asked, looking greedily at the phone.

"Nah kiddo, not till you are older. "

The kid gave him an angry look, stuck his tongue out and walked away, much to Tony's annoyance. He slipped his phone back in his pocket and began walking again.

XXX

Tony sat on a sleek metal table. He connected the charger of his reactor to the blue glob in his chest. A sizzle was heard, and Tony felt a little jerk of electricity hit his chest. he looked at the reactor. Fine .

His phone buzzed.

He picked it up.

"Tony!"  
"Rhodey? What's up?"

"Don't you what's up me! Where were you gone?"  
"Fury presented me with a mission. To help a drunk guy. Why the hell is he hampering me teenage life?!"

"Haha. Like iron man is fourty-five."  
"Rhodey, saving people from a falling pillar is diferrent. What Fury wants me to do, will get me a new enemy. Not fine with me."

"Well come home. I want every detail."


	8. Chapter 8

"Rhodey?" I called out. Whispered, more likely, Roberta was sleeping on the couch.

I went in Rhodey's room. the lights were switched off. Rhodey was sleeping as well. I wanted to pour cold water on his face, but the last time I did it, he delivered a punch straight to my reactor. God, it hurt. I touched the reactor. It was sizzling. I don't know why...? It has been growing hotter and hotter since the last time I used the suit. I noted the high temperature during charging, too.

"Mm, Tony?" Rhodey whispered, blinking awake.

I smirked. Rhodey's voice was all I needed to swipe my worries away.

" Is it supposed to do that?"

"What?"  
"That sizzling sound. Is the reactor supposed to do that?"

My face fell. "Is it loud?"

"Yeah, it never used to do that..."

"Well...there goes my day. "

Rhodey grinned and threw a pillow at me. It sent a surge of pain in my reactor. I ignored it.

"Well, you were supposed to tell me what happened today?"

"Yeah." I switched on the light. " There was this freaky man, ugly as hell..." I narrated him the whole incident.

Rhodey sighed. "Tony you could have helped."

" Why?"

"Look, this man seems make a good ally."

" I am sorry? This guy could barely put a step forward without tripping, Drunk bozo. I dont think it would be worth."

"Tony, Fury trusts this guy."

"Yeah , and that is what makes me deny this job."

Rhodey glared at me.

"You are not gonna make me do it." Hand unconciously clutching the reactor, I left the room, angry.

 **I AM SOO SORRY FOR LEAVING THIS FOR SO LONG! i got so busy, there were exams then this bunch of koreans have come to school and it is winter now and its cCOLD . Anyway, whump coming up!**


	9. Chapter 9

I was goddamn pissed off.

Rhodey slammed the door of his room shut after a few minutes, and sound snores erupted from the room. Rhodey, surely has a way of putting things aside.

I felt lonely , alone at a house filled with sleeping people.

I ran the whole way toward the lab.

XXX

(THE NEXT DAY)

"You know, Tony, maybe, doing the mission will not make life any tougher for you."

"uh-huh." Tony mumbled, totally ignoring her. He shut the door of his locker, and began walking towards his class.

"Tony!" Rhodey caught up with him too. Man, why wont the duo just leave him alone?

"Hey Tony," Rhodey greeted me, smiling. I took it as a warning sign. Rhodey only smiles that smile when he is about to convince me about something I don't want to do. It ends up with me relenting. The opulence of manipulation leaves me grotesquely inarticulate. He is like a brother to me, and all brothers are annoying.

He said nothing.

Instead , he just pointed in front of me.

I looked ahead. There was a girl standing in front of me, smiling. I gaped at her, annoyed. I was already in a terrible mood. I didnt even know why.

So, I diverted my thoughts towards the girl. She had a smart aura around her, I could see that. She had a clean mop of white hair, but was young. A black pair of glasses were perched at her nose. She was wearing a Black tee-shirt, and a pair of shorts upon black slacs.

"Hello Stark."

 ** _I am sorry, its so awfully small, but i seriously dont have time. SORRY!_**


	10. Chapter 10

Tony's POV

I stared at her. It was awkward, we were standing in the middle of the hallway, getting pushed back and forth but never disconnecting eye contact.

"Do I know you?" I asked, suspicious. I had to get to my class, and I didnt have time for staring into the oblivion.

"Uhh, we can see to that later. However, here I am, and I know you." She smirked as soon as she finished her sentence, her hands on her hips.

"Lady, I am getting late-"  
"Yeah , I can see that."

My face contorted in confusion. I glanced behind to see Rhodey looking at his watch and biting his lip. He was sweating profusely.

I turned back to the girl. " So honestly, I will contact you later-"

"Who the hell said you need to contact me?" She looked at me with I-am-superior look.

"Well, I did-"

"I need to discuss some privy information with you."

"Yeah , and we can do it late-"

"No. We need to do it right now."

(Lady stop interrupting me.)

I stared at the girl. No . I wasnt going to miss a second class in the same week because a crackpot old organisation's crackpot old leader sent his minions to trouble me daily.

"Oh it's so serious now." The girl chuckled, looking at my expression. "Wait."  
She took out her phone and started tapping it.

"Your class is cancelled."

What the-

"Now come with me."

"But how-"

"I had this planned, get going. James," She looked back at Rhodey. "You stay here only. You got a free period!" She winked and smiled.

Around twenty men ran into the building and surrounded me. They were dressed in casuals.

"You are safe with me."

yeah. And I totally agreed with it. Totallyyyyy...

Still. I had my armour cum bagpack. I could take this little gang of oddballs.

And I nodded, still confused.

XXX

"Rhodey!" Pepper ran towards Rhodey, face flushed and eyes wide with fear.

"What happened?" I asked, confused, taking in the belwildered state of Pepper.

"There were these...man with guns...and they just came...RHODEY THEY SHOT PROFESSOR RICHARDS!"


	11. Chapter 11

The woman sat in a car, motioning me to get in. It was times like these, when I considered myself extremely foolish, even if I had the Iron Man backpack with me. The suit would be useless if I wouldn't have a charged reactor. My rough calculation told me that I was at about 57% at the maximum. Enough for the classes, but definately not enough for powering the armour.

It was awkward, travelling in a car filled with people you don't trust, trying to watch the city running past, while everybody is staring at you.

I rubbed the reactor, worried. It was heating up again.

"Umm, something wrong with your chest kid?" Asked the buff one sitting next to me.

" I am nervous, I guess..." I lied.

"You are safe with us." He spat back angrily, and I shut up.

"Where are we going?" I asked the girl.

"To my headquarters."

"Why can't the S.H.E.I.L.D pick on me after my classes?!"

"Kiddo," She chuckled, "We're not S.H.E.I.L.D. Our organisation came into being when the first Makluan ring was found. You know about them , I believe?"

I nodded in agreement.

"And you know that one of your classmates has aqquired five Makluan rings?"

"Yes." I nodded again, thinking of Gene.

"And you also know that he hasn't been coming to classes for a few weeks?"  
"Yes." I nodded again, a chill running down my spine.

"Good." She turned away from me.

"Did you do something to him?" I asked , worried. No matter how much I suffered because of him, Gene had been my friend.

"Tony, we can't tell you that, but he is alive."

I breathed again. At least he was alive. Whatever was left out, I didn't care. But my father had been in the custody of Gene...

"Did you find somebody else with him?" I asked, eyes hopeful.

"We closed up on him. He had ...your dad...hostage."

My face fell. And?

"He drove a knife straight through the heart."

No.

"Tony, it's okay, people are bound to -"

"Leave me alone." I cried out , hiding my face in my face in my hands. There was a strange ache in my heart. I felt the girl gape sympathetically at me.

Luckily, she didn't ask me more questions, and I kept my silence.

XXX

I got out of the car, dishevelled and broken. The girl bent for a retinal scan by the door. She applied her thumb on a small panel with appeared seconds later.

"Let's go."

I gripped my bagpack closer to my body and walked inside the building.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello!  
**

 **So I went on a teensy-meensy haitus (i don't remember telling you guys about it, I had exams, i am so ...)** **I have holidays, so updates will be quick.**

chapteridunnowhichnumber

"Tony Stark!" A serene lady came near me, wearing a tuxedo, to shake my hand. "What an honour!"

I gawked at the small gun she had hidden in the hem of her boots.

"I won't shoot you." She clarified. She motioned the other people to go away.

"Why am I here?"

"Patience."

She caught hold of my hand and began leading me inside.

My insides twisted. The hallway was dark, accept for some dim lights at a regular interval. There were door at my side. Numbered.

She knocked twice on one of them. There was no answer.

We entered the room.

"Say hi Gene!" The lady said cheerfully. It sounded pretty fake from where I was standing.

I gaped at the figure chained in front of me. He was strapped to a metal table, rings gone. He scowled at me.

"Tony." He whispered, livid.

"You..." Tony muttered, angrily.

"Now," Said the lady, " we got work. Gene here had established control over the five Makluan rings. We have them now."

"Straight to business." Tony said. " WHY AM I HERE."

"Very rude."

Tony gave her the finger.

"Very , very rude."

Her phone rang.

"Hello? "

Her face contorted in confusion.

"It's a call for you."

"I would like to talk privately." Tony told her, grudgingly.

She nodded. I snatched the phone from her hand and went to the corner of the room.

"Tony, it's Fury. You are with some very dangerous people. I need you to listen to me. Give no reaction."

"Okay." Tony said, voice emitting no surprise.

"Do you have the armour?"

"Yeah."

"Take the lady down and escape. We are sending help."


	13. Chapter 13

Tony gave the phone back to the lady.

 _What do I do now..._

"Are you all right?" She asked.

 _I would be, if it weren't for you people._

"Yeah." Said Tony. Lying had become quite a part of his life.

"You don't look like it."

"Uh-huh."

Tony clutched the strap of his armour bag. "You didn't tell why I am here."

The lady smiled. " Anthony, have you ever heard about time travel?"

Tony took a step back as she took a step towards him. _Calm down!_

"Yeah."

She laughed .

Tony eyes her closely.

Then...her features began to change.

Her hair lengthened, the smooth and lithe skin began to decay in places, her eyes...they turned black and voluptous. Her teeth looked carnivorous. Her clothes morphed into a sort of an armour. She twirled her decayed hands and a spear formed in her hand.

Before Tony knew it, a hellish figure stood before him, laughing, as the room around him drifted away like ashes discarded from a blaze, leaving them standing in a black area. Gene fell on the floor, but was caught by the nameless monster.

"What are you?!" Tony lamented.

"Anthony Edward Stark, my name is Proxima Midnight. Your end...meets you."

 _I shouldn't have asked._

"Not now!" Tony shouted. He pressed a button in the underside of his bag. It opened and soon, iron man stood, ready for the battle.

Proxima watched him, impressed. "You think...that tin can will save you?" Her voice was misty and whispery. She threw Gene away from both of us. A set of ropes formed around him. He winced.

"Come, embrace your death!"  
With a derisive laugh, she raised her spear. She jumped and thrust it in my direction. I dodged the hit and went sideways, but she was to turned in midair , and managed to drive the spear right in my hand, but the armour handled the pressure. I choked, the spear pulsated energy waves into my hand.

 _SHIT!_

I deployed flared, which hit her square in the face. She fell back, only to attack more harshly. My shoulder blade had hidden guns, which emerged.

She chopped them away before I could shoot!  
"Shit!" I screamed.

"How do you expect to kill someone who has already died?"  
 _Huh._

 _"_ You..." I panted," You are dead?"

"I did die , Anthony, but he has ressurected me!" She laughed. I winced at the true exult hidden in her words.

"Death is painful , Anthony."

 _Who is he?_

She laughed again and circled me , trying to find an opening.

I fired my repulsors at her. She threw her spear in the same direction, cutting the energy from my blast. I flew sideways. And shit, it has pierced my armour from the side. I wasn't hit, but the area was vunerable.

"Thanos will kill you Anthony."

"Tony!" Gene shouted.

I looked at him. Proxima waited, she couldn't resist to make sure that I was suffering to see my so called friend lying on the floor, or she was crazy and wanted to drag this as long as she could.

Gene showed me his fingers. They were raw, and the Makluan rings were nearly printed on them.

The rings!

Proxima had them!

I looked at her. She wasn't wearing them .

Gene opened his other fist a bit.

He had the rings!

How!

He showed me his other fist , and opened it. It was empty. And he said something . I understood.

"Done the chit-chat?" Asked Proxima, raising her spear.

Gene nodded. Then he threw the rings at Proxima's feet.

Proxima blinked.

I arched, and directed all the power to the arc reactor.

Proxima picked them up. "You are not friends?" She asked.

"Oh we don't know." I said, feeling sick. I fired my repulsor from the arc reactor. Proxima rotated her spear to protect her spear, but the blast wasn't meant for her.

It hit the rings.

There was a sudden explosion of colours. Suddenly time felt like it had stopped. Gene and I were thrown back, in opposite directions, and we watched as Proxima disintegrated into thin air, screaming and shouting.

I closed my eyes.

 **Infinity war sized spoilers ahead!**


	14. Chapter 14

"He is stable."

"Both of them ?"  
"Bit burned, but yeah."

Tony opened his eyes. He was lying on a black gurney, in a black room filled with blue holograms and screens.

 _SHEILD hospital._

He felt like he had been sleeping for years at once. His eyes burnt, and his eyes was dry.

"He's awake." Said a voice.

"He should rest" Said another, "Go to sleep, kid."

So he did.

XXX

 _Tony felt like he was falling. A five robed figures stood in front of him._

 _"We are eternally grateful to you, Anthony Edward Stark" Said one of them,"for setting us free."_

XXX

Tony's POV

I opened my eyes, wincing against the light. Not that there was much of it , though.

I tried to get up. Big mistake. My implant burnt. I fell back on the bed.

"Don't." Said Edward.

"You."

"Me. I know it's me. You don't need to tell me."

"Oh very funny."

Edward frowned. "What is wrong with you?"

"I guess, that I am in a hospital." I said. I knew that , of course. But the recent events were coming back to me very slowly.

"You fought with Proxima Midnight."

"I did."

"You killed her."

I gave no response. Being iron man doesn't mean that you get to witness death's daily, and it was a bit haunting. I could still hear Proxima's screams.

"How's Gene?"

"He woke up." Said Edward, pulling a chair close to my bed and sitting on it," He told us everything."

"Yeah keep him away from me. Or I will kill him."

"Bit harsh." Said Rhodey , entering the room. "He just saved your life."

"He killed dad."

I clenched my eyes shut. "So if I see so much of a trinket of his hair, I shall kill him."

I opened my eyes.

Edward pushed his chair back and went out of the room.

Rhodey didn't say anything. I knew he was shocked and hurt, dad was like a father figure to him too. But it was me who had him as a father.

"Mum is worried." Said Rhodey, taking a seat.

"She here?" I asked, worried. She would kill me. This wasn't my first trip to the hospital.

"No." Said Rhodey, taking a deep breathe, "But she visited. You didn't look good."

"I wasn't that hurt."

"She cares Tony!" Lamented Rhodey.

I was taken aback. The last thing I wanted was Rhodey to turn against me.

"I can't see her like this, worrying herself to shreds!" Venom poured from his voice," So either you tell her what's happening, or drop the hero stunt."

He got up.

I stared.

"I can't Rhodey. I can't."

"Why?" He asked. There was such a sadness in his voice that suddenly I couldn't breathe.

"I am iron man, Rhodey, the suit and I are one." Said I." here is something very wrong, and I need to be there. The world needs iron man."

"You are helping them?"

"I am, now. But I need more information."

Rhodey looked in my eyes. And his expression hardened. He was fighting an internal battle, I knew it.

"You are on your own , in this one."

"Rhodey-" I got up quickly. And the implant burnt, pushing me back in bed.

The door closed behind him.


	15. Chapter 15

Tony's POV

Edward came back a few minutes later. He didn't look like he was in any mood to talk, and neither was I. I couldn't get my mind off the last few minutes.

" _You are on your own."_

I sighed audibly. Though it wasn't enough to jerk Edward from his reverie. And it was freaky. Not in a good way. Then, freaky never comes in a good way.

My implant flickered.

I flinched. Was it about to go out?  
But it kept glowing.

And then it flickered.

And again, it glowed.

"Edward!" I called out, worried.

He flinched too, and looked at me. "What happened?"

"The implant!"

I told him, motioning to it.

Then, I noticed.

It wasn't the same.

The white line surrounding it were gone. It looked more metallic than plastic, now. The blue shade was deeper, and I could see it pulsating. It felt much better, as an implant, but my chest still burnt if I got up.

"What about it?" Asked Edward nonchalantly, bouncing back to his old persona. He pulled the sleeves of his blue hoodie a bit lower, eyeing me closely.

"It...It has changed."

"Yeah."

"I didn't know that doctor Yinsen wanted to upgrade the design."

"Doctor Yinsen-"

"He handles the implant." I told him, curtly.

"But he hasn't. "

I frowned. I trusted no other doctor to be able to handle my condition.

"I did." Said Edward.

I gaped.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Why no?" He asked, making a face.

"Because you are not qualified to be a doctor."

"What makes you say that?"

"Just a hunch."

"You're stupid. I invented the new design and gave it to Yinsen to change the implant."

I gaped, mouth hanging open, "You did-"

"I did. So shut up."

I did. Because I was a very honest , gullible little pacifier sucking child.

Kidding.

I was silent because I couldn't quite place a thought in which Edward seemed to be working seriously seemed laughable to me.

"How did you kill Proxima?" He asked me.

"Gene told me to blast the Makluan rings." I told him, " And I did. But the other five rings , I don't know where they are."

"Who cares. Gene told me, their power would disappear, as their brothers are dead."

He folded his arms and took a deep breathe. "Tony."

"Yeah?"

"Did she talk to you? About anything?"

I tried to remember:the fight seemed so long ago. "Yeah. "

"What did she tell you?"  
"She asked me if I knew about time travel. And she also told me that she couldn't be killed because she was already killed and ressurected by Thaneos-"

"Thanos."

"Thanos, but I killed her, so who cares." I told him, throwing his words back it him. Then I frowned, "Who is Thanos?"

Edward smirked. "You don't need to know until you agree to help us."

" I will help you."

"Then I will tell you everything."


	16. Chapter 16

Edward twirled his fingers. Out of habit, out of nervousness. And his being nervous was a surprise.

"We have team called the avengers." He spoke lightly.

"How come I have never heard-"

But Edward lost him. He was drowning...

 _"I am sorry, but he's my friend."_

 _"So was I."_

 _"I am trying to stop you from tearing the avengers apart!"_

 _"You already did when you signed."_

 _"It was the only way."_

"Mr. Edward!"

He flinched. "Where was I?"

"The avengers." Tony prompted. Ahh. He was a sincere kid. Edward saw himself in the kid's eyes. Ironic.

"Yeah. We protected the Earth... But then, we had a fight. Half of them were declared fugitives."

Edward closed his eyes.

" Then, Thanos came."

It had been a pointless battle. They had already known the outcome...

"We lost."

"And what did you lose?"

"Half of humanity."

Tony gasped. But ...

"How have we not known?"

" Thanos used the time stone to go ahead in time."

 _It was the only way_

 _"_ Turns out I would be the one to kill him."

Tony blinked.

"So he decided to kill me. But I was in hiding. So he travelled back in time to kill me as a kid."

"I don't understand." Asked Tony.

"The time stone. He was using it, and I hung onto him."

"So..."

"I am from the future."

"A likely story."

"I am."

Edward stood up.

"My name is Anthony Edward Stark, and I am iron man."

Their eyes met.

"You lie."

Edward shook his head. He closed his battered and scarred fingers around Tony's smooth ones and placed his hand on the kid's implant. Then, he placed the other one on his chest.

Tony gaped at the dim light his hands concealed.


	17. Chapter 17

"Stay away from me." Tony lamented, scrambling away from Edward. They couldn't be the same person. He was ugly, alcoholic and vile from the very root. Tony felt the oncoming of a panic attack.

"I am sorry I startled you. " Edward, or for god sake whoever he was, said. Tony could hear his cogs turning. Sly. "But whoever went with me didn't survive. "

He took a deep breath. His eyes glazed over.

"There was a kid younger than you."

Tony gaped angrily at him. He wasn't a loon and would not fall for this.

"He died." And his breath hitched their.

"I don't want more people falling in this business. I don't want more people to die. The only life I am ready to give, is mine. But I. can't. do it alone."

So Edward wanted him to risk his life. For some unforenseen danger. Great. One more reason not to do this. Tony was a teenager. He wanted to see life. Experience the thrill of it. Not die in a fight, no matter how noble it sounded.

"I am begging you."

"Why did you survive?" He asked him instead. He didn't want to sound rude, and yet , when his words did, he didn't care.

Edward seemed to ponder the question.

"I don't know."

And in his heart, Toy knew this was honest.

" I was spared by the snap. There was a person...robot their with me. We got into a ship and began sailing towards Earth. But then , our resources got low..."

He smiled.

" My Pepper came to save me."

Tony choked. 'Excuse me?"

"Uh sorry. I meant, like you have P"In space. I had given her a suit. The rescue suit. More advanced than you made for Pepper."

"Oh yeah. What happens to Pepper, Rhodey in the future? Surely you must know."

"Rhodey became a colonel. Pepper got ...ermm...to work for a billionaire."

Tony nodded.

"What happens if I die?" He asked in a small voice. He still hadn't agreed to work with Edward, but curiousity...

"If you die, I will disappear."

Tony smiled.


End file.
